The present disclosure relates to a robot apparatus that recognizes an object in an environment and that holds the object, a method for controlling the robot apparatus, and a computer program, and, more particularly, to a robot apparatus that recognizes an object in an environment and performs a holding operation on the basis of an instruction from a user through an instruction terminal or the like, a method for controlling the robot apparatus, and a computer program.
Robot apparatuses are used in factories and the like. Most of such robot apparatuses are designed to achieve regular tasks. In these years, robot apparatuses that can perform various types of work are being realized. The latter robot apparatuses are applied, for example, to fields of welfare, nursing, and helping, and deliver desired objects to disabled people or the like in accordance with users' demands.
Here, in order to hold an object, a robot apparatus has an ability to recognize a target object in an environment. However, it is difficult for the robot apparatus to retain high recognition ability in various situations. In addition, when a minute object such as a needle or medicine (a pill) is to be held, it is difficult even to find such an object in an environment.
A control system is commonly used in the art in which a user uses an instruction terminal or the like to instruct the robot apparatus to perform an operation. Therefore, a method may be used in which the user informs, through the instruction terminal, the robot apparatus which object is to be held.
For example, an operation instruction system has been proposed in which holding patterns for a plurality of principal form models are stored in a database in advance, and when a user specifies a principal form model corresponding to an object to be held using an instruction terminal, the robot apparatus fits the specified principal form model into data regarding a three-dimensional position obtained for the object to be held and searches the database to select a holding pattern for the object to be held (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-214212).
However, in the above-described operation instruction system, the database storing the principal form models is supposed to be prepared in advance, and it is difficult to treat objects that do not match the principal form models registered to the database. In addition, although data regarding the three-dimensional position of an object is obtained only by three-dimensional form measurement during fitting, the accuracy of the three-dimensional form measurement is generally low, and therefore an incorrect determination might be made and it is difficult to obtain data regarding a three-dimensional position that is sufficiently accurate to hold a minute object such as a needle or medicine (a pill), for which a principal form is difficult to define. Accordingly, the holding operation might not be effectively performed. In addition, an operation for selecting a principal form model using the instruction terminal is complex, and therefore it is possible that users even avoid using the operation instruction system.